Bioinformatics - the application of computers to life sciences, and genomics - the study of biology at the genome-wide scale, are revolutionising basic and applied biological sciences in the 21st century. The unit focuses on the application of bioinformatics to the storage, retrieval and analysis of biological information, principally in the form of nucleotide and amino acid sequences. An extensive practical component emphasises the development of hands-on skills in the use of bioinformatics technologies. Students will gain an appreciation of the significance and potential of bioinformatics and genomics in contemporary life sciences; an awareness of the breadth of bioinformatics resources and applications, including non-sequence-based biological information; skills and experience in the use of a core set of programs and databases for nucleotide and amino acid sequence analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction; a basic understanding of the theoretical foundation and underlying assumptions of the programs, and their relative strengths/limitations; and, competence in the evaluation of output from the programs in appropriate biological context.

This unit of study builds on previous study of the principles of fluids dynamics and introduces applied fluid mechanics. The unit provides the theory and tools to solve practical problems related to: differential relations for fluid flow, pipe flow, flow around immersed body, flow around immersed bodies, open channel flow, compressible flow, and turbo-machinery.

The objectives of this Unit of Study are to develop an understanding of the processes occurring in lakes, reservoirs, streams and coastal seas, and an introduction to transport and mixing in inland waters, and to the design the design of marine structures. The unit will cover the mass and heat budget in stored water bodies, mixing, and the implications for water quality. In streams, simple transport models will be introduced, and simple models for dissolved oxygen transport discussed. The basic equations for linear and non linear wave theories in coastal seas will be introduced, and wave forces on structures and an introduction to design of offshore structures will be discussed.

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the major physical and chemical processes that control the concentration and dispersion of chemical pollutants in natural and impacted coastal environments. The course will demonstrate how to use contaminant data effectively and how to judge the quality of chemical data. This knowledge will be used to design and to assess environmental projects, and to judge the magnitude of impact by human activity on marine environments and the risk posed by sedimentary contaminants to benthic animals. The course aims to provide present and future managers employed in environmental professions with the skills to use data with confidence and to make management decisions knowing the risks inherent in variable data quality.

This unit of study provides an overview of Australian and international law as it pertains to the environment. It looks at a number of environmental issues at the various levels of analysis, policy making, implementation of policy and dispute resolution. It also provides a broad background to political and economic issues as they related to the legal issues. This unit of study involves lecture material and an essay on policy issues.

The concept and use of computer modelling in natural resource management is introduced in this unit of study, which is aimed particularly at non-programmers. The unit involves a combination of lecture and applied modelling skills, with students learning practical techniques that can be applied to different environmental issues.

This unit of study demonstrates the history and contested understandings of the concept of sustainable development. It applies these concepts to explore important environmental science issues such as population, water management sustainable cities, rural development, industrial ecology, and energy issues. The unit concludes by presenting a range of future scenarios and encouraging students to develop their own vision of sustainability at the global and other scales, and to communicate their means of achieving this sustainability vision.

No assessment of potential environmental impacts is possible without relevant information about the ecological consequences. This unit is for those without a quantitative ecology background, to explain the need to quantify and what are relevant measures. Describing and understanding uncertainty will be explained in the context of precautionary principles. Issues about measuring biodiversity and the spatial and temporal problems of ecological systems will be introduced. Field experience will also be available (up to two of six hour sessions) subject to weather, tides and available staffing; please note that these sessions are voluntary.

This unit of study gives an overview of basic spatial data models, and enables students to understand the use of data from a variety of sources within a geographical information system (GIS). The analysis of spatial data, and its manipulation to address questions appropriate to planning or locational applications, will be addressed, as will the development of thematic maps from diverse data layers.

This course will provide the conceptual background to more advanced GIS analysis applications and spatial reasoning methods in the context of contemporary environmental issues. The course is designed to provide an understanding of spatial analysis techniques available within a GIS environment, explore a diversity of both social and physical environmental applications and address emerging issues in GIS research. A range of topics will be introduced including field based capture of spatial information, spatial data structures, surface modelling, visibility analysis, hydrological modeling, network analysis, spatial data uncertainty and social GIS. Conceptual material presented in lectures and tutorial workshops will be placed in an applied context through a series of laboratory and field sessions designed to strengthen practical understanding and awareness of GIS methods.

The unit of study explores how remote sensing has enabled the science of Earth Observation to become the most valuable and widely-used tool for characterising and quantifying Earths vegetation, geology and marine ecosystems. The study introduces the physical processes that influence how light interacts with materials of the Earth's surface, which is the basis for Earth Observation. The course uses state-of-the-art, industry-standard software to introduce many different techniques in the analysis and interpretation of remotely sensed data. We will explore different kinds of remotely sensed data, starting from a simple colour photograph to multispectral and hyperspectral data gathered from satellites and aircraft. Earth Observation is becoming an essential skill for anyone interested in the natural environment - skills which are applicable across a wide range of science and environmental disciplines. Starting off simply, you will acquire the skills and knowledge to enable you to map and quantify vegetation and geology using image data acquired in different parts of the world. The objective of this course is to 'demystify' the use of satellite data and to provide the essential theoretical and practical skills to enable students to process data acquired by Earth Observation satellites and aircraft.

The unit introduces methods associated with acquiring data in the field and examines issues associated with application of spatial data to environmental monitoring, terrain mapping and geocomputing. Students will learn both theoretically and practically how environmental data is collected using different remote sensing techniques, (pre)processing methods of integrating data in a GIS environment and the role of spatial data in understanding landscape processes and quantifying environmental change.

This unit of study explains the major coastal processes and systems of relevance to coastal zone management. These include rocky coasts and bluffs; beaches, barriers and dunes; and estuaries and inlets. The interactions between these processes and systems that are of most relevance to coastal management are highlighted, including coastal hazards such as beach erosion, dune migration, bluff retreat, coastal flooding and inlet closure/opening. Anthropogenic impacts are also analysed. The unit is presented in lectures and field excursions, the latter enabling each system to be examined first hand.

The field school will be based around visits to a series of coastal sites along the NSW coast. The unit will include a series of introductory lectures followed by visits to the sites where both unit staff and local coastal managers and stakeholders will address the students on the nature of the site, its historical development and contemporary coastal management issues and solutions. Sites will be selected to the representative of both the range of coastal systems present along the NSW coast, as well as the range of management issues presented by the sites.

This unit enables students who have completed earlier coursework to design and undertake a research project related to a coastal management topic under the supervision of an appropriate member of staff. The unit is suitable for students who wish to learn how to undertake and complete an original research project, as well as students from industry and government organizations who wish to undertake a project that relates to their professional environment.

This unit provides an in - depth overview of the key biological and non-biological processes that make up coral reef ecosystems. There is a focus on the biogeographic, oceanographic and physiological processes underlying the integrity of global tropical reef systems. The Great Barrier Reef is used as a case study to explore emerging concepts on the influence of natural and anthropogenic processes on the integrity of global reef and lagoon systems. Learning activities will include a series of background lectures and research seminars and tutorials in the development of a major research project. A major aspect of this unit is an independent research project conducted under the supervision of the course instructors. The unit concludes with a series of oral presentations based on student research. Assessment tasks will consist of two essays and a research project report and presentation. The curriculum in this unit is based on current research and a course book will be provided. This is a field intensive course held at One Tree Island Research Station or Heron Island Research Station. The course is ex-Gladstone Queensland and students are expected to make their own way there. This unit will be run over 8 days and there will be an additional course fee for food and accommodation, expected to be $600.

This unit provides an in - depth understanding of the key geological, oceanographic,. biological and economic factors effecting climate change, energy generation and needs with specific reference to the Great Barrier Reef. Computer prediction of worst and best case scenarios are used to develop management strategies and policy implications. Learning activities will include a series of background lectures and research seminars, and tutorials on the development of a major research project. A major aspect of this unit is an independent research project conducted under the supervision of the course instructors. The unit concludes with a series of oral presentations based on student research. Assessment tasks will consist of two essays and a research project report and presentation. The curriculum in this unit is based on current research and a course book will be provided. This is a field intensive course held at One Tree Island Research Station. The course is ex-Gladstone Queensland and students are expected to make their own way there. The unit will be run over 8 days and there will be an additional course fee for food and accommodation, expected to be $600.

This Unit of Study will introduce students to current research undertaken in various disciplines of marine science in Australia. It will be a multi-institutional unit taught at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) with contributions from the four University partners of SIMS. Lectures and tutorials will be taught by leading marine science researchers. Topics will cover physical and biological oceanography, climate change, molecular ecology, aquaculture, marine biology and marine geosciences. In practical classes, students will analyse and interpret remote-sensing data from the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), which provides comprehensive information on the biological and physical processes of Australia's coastal and oceanic waters.

The oceans cover two-thirds of the world's surface, and are vital to international commerce, are a store of important living and non-living resources, and provide indispensable environmental services including stabilising the global climate system. This unit reviews the major areas of the law of the sea as it has developed over the centuries. The unit takes as its focus the 'constitution' of the oceans, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and also considers a range of other international conventions and agreements, and current state practice. Each of the major maritime zones is assessed, and there is also a detailed review of several sectoral issues, including the protection of the marine environment, fisheries, navigational rights and freedoms, and military uses of the oceans. Where appropriate, reference will be made throughout the unit to relevant Australian law and practice, and to other state practice in the Asia Pacific Region.

The unit takes an interdisciplinary approach to the conservation of biodiversity. Key concepts in ecology are explained to provide a foundation for the legal framework. This framework is examined at international, national, and state levels, in terms of conventions and legislation, as well as policy and organisations. The legal framework is explored both by analysing the proper purpose, scope and effect of the laws, as well as how they work in practice. The latter is achieved by lectures and field exercises assisted by officers of government agencies, including State Forests, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources. An integral component of the unit is a field trip to areas of relevance to biodiversity conservation, focusing on northern New South Wales. Areas to be studied include habitats of threatened species and ecological communities and World Heritage areas listed under the relevant Commonwealth and State legislation. Field studies provide a unique opportunity to understand how principles of international and domestic law are implemented locally. The field trip component will be arranged in conjunction with the field trip for LAWS6055 Heritage Law (if offered). Students are encouraged to take both units of study; they are designed to complement each other closely.

This unit begins with an overview of the causes and effects of global climate change and its likely impact on the coastal zone. The focus of the unit is not on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but rather on adapting to the impacts of climate change, and the associated legal and policy dimensions. This will involve an evaluation of legal and policy measures for building resilience in the coastal zone at international level as well as those in Australia at Commonwealth, State, and local government level. Topics covered include: adaptation and the role of the judiciary, planning for environmental impacts, biodiversity and resilience, environmental justice, liability, and the role of insurance in managing risk. The unit will conclude by evaluating the role and effectiveness of law in the adaptation process.

After studying the Wildlife Epidemiology unit, you will be able to: apply epidemiological concepts to farmed and wild aquatic animals; explain the requirements of import risk analysis for aquatic animals and identify sources of aquatic animal health data; explain the requirements of aquatic animal disease surveillance and targeted surveys; design analytic epidemiological studies; explain sources of bias in aquatic animal systems; contribute to investigations of fish kills.